pillar of studio work...

[abyssinianson]

i snuck a pic of this baby i was workin' with today. i thought it would be cool to share on here since a few folks have mentioned tape work now and again. i am not sure how old this Studer model is but it got me thinking that even though digital stuff can be had in studios around the world, there are still icons of studio work and production that a lot of people refuse to give up. this thing sounds sweet...

[3650guy]

...yup alpha studios sa cubao still has an aging 32track recorder...

[mikep]

We're still using our analog recorders pretty much.  We have 3 studios with 2 Otari MX80 24 trackers and 1 with a Soundcraft 762 24 track 2 inch recorder, alongside our Digitals.  The sound cannot be beat. 

The picture is a Studer A827, a workhorse which a lot of big pro studios still use along with the Studer A800 and Studer A80.  These German made machines churned out a lot of big hits.

Alpha also has Otari MX80 24 tracks and a Soundcraft console that used to belong to Doc Erana.  I designed and built Alpha's 2 studios in the 90s.

FWIW

[skunkyfunk]

I have been asking myself 10000x if I should buy the Otari MTR90 at Vehnee Saturno's studio.  But that would mean getting a huge console as well.  And patch cables, patchbays, and tons of other stuff.

[abyssinianson]

We're still using our analog recorders pretty much.  We have 3 studios with 2 Otari MX80 24 trackers and 1 with a Soundcraft 762 24 track 2 inch recorder, alongside our Digitals.  The sound cannot be beat. 

The picture is a Studer A827, a workhorse which a lot of big pro studios still use along with the Studer A800 and Studer A80.  These German made machines churned out a lot of big hits.

Alpha also has Otari MX80 24 tracks and a Soundcraft console that used to belong to Doc Erana.  I designed and built Alpha's 2 studios in the 90s.

FWIW

yup...it is an A827. this unit particularly struck me as a really, really clean and well maintained unit. glancing around the control room during tracking got me thinking just how long Studer churned these things out because I can't say I've ever been in a big studio that didn't have one of these in active service.

[mikep]

@skunky - if you started having digital in your studio, stick to it.  Analog system has a totally different characteristics, maintenance and logistics-wise.  Also, you would need a bigger control room, lots of air conditioning, etc., etc., to sustain these machines.  Nowadays, digital is not far from achieving analog sound, plus, nobody cares anymore, with iPods and MP3s.  you are better off investing your resources in other stuff like good mics, pre-amps, new digital stuff.  Analog machine parts are hard to come by.  Instead of them getting cheaper because of age, they are getting more expensive.  Even 2" tape has gone more expensive.

@abyss - Studers are almost hand crafted.  They are built like tanks, thus they stand the hands of time.  I have 2 track Revoxes and a Studer 807 2 track mastering recorder and they still work good until now.  The sounds they put out are still pristine.

FWIW